Housing and Home

Where people live is a crucial part of their life and their personal identity. Where you live influences your sense of community and ‘belonging’, and having choice and control over options for housing should be a core human right.

The NDTi has a strand of work concerned with ensuring people are able to exercise choice and control over decisions about their housing, with any support that they need being provided in ways that help, rather than hinder their wellbeing and community inclusion. We have four particular strands of interest:

  • The development of non-institutional models of housing and support for people who need significant levels of support. In the 1970’s the NDT was at the forefront of supporting the closure of the long stay institutions. However, some service provision retains some institutional characteristics and so we work to promote person centred, individualised housing and support options for a variety of people, at different ages and stages of their life

  • The role of housing in the personalisation agenda - people need to have awareness of and access to a wide range of housing and support options. Unless individual budgets are used to enable people to move from residential care to supports where they have greater autonomy, a great opportunity will be lost.  Funding sources such as ‘Supporting People’ need to work alongside social care and NHS funding so that people can make or retain their home at the centre of their lifestyle.

  • Housing rights and responsibilities. The current legislative and policy framework creates a tension between people getting the support they need and people having control over their home environment.  This requires action both to ensure people’s rights are properly respected within the current arrangements and that action is taken to change legislation and policy for the future.

  • The importance of neighbourhoods and “place” so that people’s homes are seen within the broader context of family, friends and other relationships, and support is available that enables participation in community and civic life where people live.

The NDTi undertakes work to address these and related issues. In addition to consultancy work with organisations to develop housing strategies, evaluate provision and review the impact of service models, our housing related initiatives include:

  • A three year DH funded project Housing and Social Inclusion Project. The NDTi is supporting local authorities that are seeking to move from residential care models to ordinary housing and support – and crucially do this in a way that promotes socially inclusive lives for people with demonstrably better outcomes.

  • An initiative funded by the Valuing People programme to work with private sector hospital providers for people with learning disabilities – supporting them to re-design their service model in line with the Valuing People policy and explore alternative ways of working with people with complex needs who might be labeled as ‘challenging’.

  • A structured workshop to help local authorities and partners make progress on the PSA 16 Housing Indicator by reviewing investment decisions and outcomes.

  • Working with 3 Local Authorities and their partner organisations in the South East to develop a broad range of alternatives for older people with high support needs at risk of moving to residential care

  • Working with Housing 21 to identify older people’s preferences for personalised housing support, including individual budgets (Read More)  

For more information call Rob Greig or Alicia Wood on 01225 787982.